BRITISH GP – RACE RESULTS

There were mixed fortunes for Scuderia Ferrari today, with Kimi Raikkonen going out on the opening lap but Fernando Alonso fighting his way up from 16th on the grid to sixth at the flag.

Fernando lined up on the grid with his car too far forward and that would later cost him a 5 second penalty. Coming onto the Wellington Straight for the first time, Kimi ran wide while fighting Gutierrez and as he tried to rejoin the track a bump spun him round into the barriers. The car came back across the track and he was hit by Felipe Massa before ending in the tyres on the other side. The man from Espoo took a hard knock on the ankle and also has pain in a knee. He will now have to rest but he will be back in time for the next round in Germany.

At the restart, Alonso put on a show flying up from eleventh to fifth, before being chased down by Vettel who had just come back on track after his tyre change. In the end, the German made the most of his fresher rubber to pass the Ferrari man whose Mediums were worn.

Lewis Hamilton won after initial leader and Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg retired and is just four points behind the German in the classification. Second was Valtteri Bottas for Williams, with Daniel Ricciardo third for Red Bull.

Kimi Raikkonen has escaped serious injury in a high-speed crash on the opening lap of the British Grand Prix that stopped the Formula 1 race.

The Finn, who had qualified in 18th place after a difficult qualifying, was battling to recover positions when he went wide at Aintree corner after running side-by-side with Esteban Gutierrez before the run down the Wellington Straight.

As Raikkonen tried to return to the circuit, his car hit a bump in the grass and he lost control after it bounced back onto the ground.

His Ferrari speared headfirst into the crash barriers on the right-hand side of the track before spinning back across the circuit.

Kamui Kobayashi had to take to the grass to avoid him, while Felipe Massa was forced to spin in avoidance, with his left rear wheel clouting Raikkonen’s car.

Raikkonen was able to get out of the car by himself, but after limping away it was decided that he needed to be taken to the medical centre for checks.

A Ferrari spokesman confirmed that Raikkonen had suffered no serious injuries, but was complaining of bruising to his knee and ankle.

QUOTES

Kimi Raikkonen: “Unfortunately, my race today ended on the first lap, after I had managed to get away well, making up enough ground to be fighting for eleventh place. At turn 5, I went off the track and while trying to get back on, I must have hit a kerb.

I then lost control of the car and ended in the barriers. It’s a real shame because yesterday, the feeling I had on track had improved and I was determined to do my utmost to bring home some points. I am really very disappointed with how things went today, but now I want to put this incident behind me and just concentrate on the next race in Germany.”

Pat Fry: “As we were starting from sixteenth and eighteenth places, we opted to start on the Hard compound and go for a more aggressive strategy. The aim was to have a short first stint before switching to the softer and faster tyre for the rest of the race. Kimi got a great start, making up several places in just a few corners but unfortunately his accident put an end to it all. Fortunately, he is okay, with no serious injuries and that’s the most important thing.

After the race was stopped, we discussed things with Fernando and decided to fit the Mediums to the end of the race, with a one-stop strategy. Despite the difficulties he had to deal with, Fernando once again displayed his great talent, both on the offensive and the defensive. At some points in the race, there was clearly some frustration, which is completely understandable, because the entire team wants to give him and Kimi a more competitive car and for that reason, we will continue trying our hardest.”

Ferrari unsure on Raikkonen fitness – The Ferrari Formula 1 team is unsure if Kimi Raikkonen will be fit to test at Silverstone this week following his British Grand Prix accident. Raikkonen suffered bruises to his knee and ankle following a high-speed crash into the barriers on the Wellington Straight on the opening lap of the race.

After checks at Silverstone’s medical centre showed that there was no serious injury to the Finn, who hobbled away from his wrecked Ferrari, his bosses are waiting to see if he will be fit enough to drive again this week.

When asked by AUTOSPORT about whether or not Raikkonen will be well enough to take part in the test, Ferrari team principal Marco Mattiacci said: “Kimi is OK.

“We checked several times and we will take a decision about the test, and what to do with the test, so we see after today.

“I want to be 100 per cent sure that he will be fine before [he does it]. But there is no major issue at the moment.”

Raikkonen had been due to drive on one of the two days of Silverstone test, with development driver Pedro de la Rosa taking part on the other.

If Raikkonen cannot drive then it is possible that de la Rosa does both days, or Fernando Alonso could be drafted in instead.

Mattiacci ruled out any kind of mechanical failure for Raikkonen’s accident, which appeared to be caused by him losing control of his car as he hit a bump while rejoining the track.

“I think that there was some kind of issue getting off the track, coming back and finding some bump,” he said. “That was the issue.”

Published by Evenstar Saima

2 thoughts on “BRITISH GP – RACE RESULTS”

I hope your ok Kimi,
I dont know whats going on with kimi, but I think he should take off the pressure of this year, just drive to gain as much knowledge and points as possible then move on to next year. Look on the bright side, 10 more races is a lot so there is still a lot of room for improvement.
the fight to alonso is all set and done, so why bother…why not concede defeat and fight for next year